


Time Heals All Wounds

by Azursa



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captivity, Comfort, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/F, Family Loss, Forbidden Love, Interrogation, Love, Loyalty, Mental Breakdown, Psychological Trauma, Revenge, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Stockholm Syndrome, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-02-10 21:38:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18668878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azursa/pseuds/Azursa
Summary: AU. Lightning, along with her team, gets caught on the hostile territory of Gran Pulse. Will she be able to run away? Will she finish the mission she was assigned with? Is it possible to break someone who is already broken? Some point between hurt, comfort, hate, loyalty, vengeance and love. Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the universe of FFXIII.





	1. Prolog: Black Hole

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. The new story from me. The first one paved the way and I think my writing improved, so I hope this one is going to be waaay better. I feel a need to warn you that this one is quite gloomy and will include some violent content. Actually, quite a lot.
> 
> So here comes the prolog. To tell the truth, it wasn't written thinking of this story but it matches here quite well. Enjoy!

I know, the time heal wounds but how much time need to pass, when someone abruptly tears out the root which has been growing into your heart for long years? Is that even possible to fill that hole? Is the lifetime enough? Is this hollow husk of heart even able bear the stress of flesh? Will it even have an occasion to be filled again or will it collapse inside like a rotten walnut? Will that become a black hole? Once great, ardently bright star, proudly giving light to the darkest corners of the world, warming cheerfully everything in its reach, enabling life to grow, then stripped of all its embers, exploding torturously as a supernova, leaving only tiny, dark grain, heavy in its greedy longing to take as much as it can but not able to give anything in exchange.

Can time heal the black hole?

It seems so. Yet the jets of energy can escape its abyss, traveling through the space chasm, taunting desperately like a lighthouse, promising a safe shore for these brave enough to get close. Seeking what once was lost and finding only few scraps.

However, even the jets aren't the true black hole's shine, are they? It is only able to offer an incandescent reflection of what it takes. It can no longer shine on its own and the heaviness grows with each try.

But the time heal the wounds, yeah?

So it naively awaits the day when the heaviness would be huge enough to tear the spacetime and find the way to the new world, where it could be born anew or find peace at last.


	2. Dead End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the first chapter.
> 
> Enjoy.

The deafening roar tore her ears leaving no place for any other sound to reach her. Pieces of the damaged aircraft were flying all around her, bumping into the unsteady metal walls adding to the overall clatter. The whole world was hazy, she couldn't even see properly and everything was moving so quickly she couldn't keep up. Everything but her. The muscles in her body were terribly slow and refused taking orders from her brain. Even them, the last thing she thought she could rely on, were against her.

Every heavy beat of heart was tearing her chest apart making it almost impossible to breathe. She tried to shout but couldn't hear any voice coming out her mouth. The roar of raw air breaking into the cockpit through the massive hole or maybe the roar of failing engine or whatever caused that unnatural noise, which was sending chills down her neck. Which was piercing the whole body, causing both physical and psychical pain, terrifying her to the core of her being. She wanted to move, to try to land the destroyed machine, to grab the parachute and leave it, to do anything, to at least save herself. However, most of all, she wanted to find the source of the roar. Her body was paralyzed by dread, lost in the sound she could bear no more.

The woman, with her pink hair ruffled by wind, was going down along with the aircraft, falling into pieces just as the damn machine, not able to do a thing about that. The shards of broken glass felt encouraged by her helplessness to dig deep into her body, leaving piercing pain, pinning her wrists to the wall, leaving her open for any other debris to feast on her body. And then everything went black and silent. Only the burning at her wrists felt real and the sound of her heavy breath.

She woke up, shuddering, barely able to catch a breath. A drop of cold sweat rolled down her jaw, hung on it just for a second to finally drip on the polished surface of the hard stone. She could feel the strands of pink hair clung all over the sweaty forehead and back of her neck. Only after a long while she acknowledged, she's no longer in the dream. The dream which had been haunting her for so long, always invariably appalling, always the same, always finishing with her waking up, covered in sweat, gasping for air. It was not different this time.

There was one meaningful difference, though. After acknowledging the nightmare, the pinkhead's senses started to respond to the surrounding, sucking it in, passing further to her unwilling mind to analyze. She didn't know the place. She tried to pull but, despite the strength of her arms, her wrists didn't budge a tiny bit. Unlike other things she could hear or feel in her dream, the burning on them was real. They were, no doubt, securely pinned to the stone wall. She made her knees straighten up to support the weight of her body on legs. It took some weight off the metal clasps, which were cutting violently into her pale wrists, keeping them reliably in place.

The cerulean eyes swept the area cursorily looking out for anything she could qualify as possibly dangerous… First and foremost. There was no need to seek far, there it was. The threat, sitting on the solid looking wooden chair, which was merely enough to support his massive body. She did the math in her mind and figured the man must have been at least 2 meters high and twice as heavy as her, with a fine pack of toned muscles sticking to his bones and little amount of fat here and there. The baldness of his head was shining slightly in the bright light of the torch fixed to the stone wall just behind him. Despite the whole place was rather dim, the torch was clearly illuminating the scars and tattoos his body was covered with. Savage dressed into leathers and furs as befits a native of Gran Pulse. His bearded face looked rather bored, absorbed with the new toy he was playing with.

The pink-haired woman's eyes widened and froze on the object in his hand. Her jaw slackened just for a little while but with the wave of anger and adrenaline which flooded her, it came back up forcefully. The initial haziness disappeared from her mind as far as her heart quickened enough to make her body ready to face the potential menace. Her eyes narrowed with barely contained fury but her teeth gritted, remembering her that she's in no position to take back what's hers.

The man stirred as if he felt her intense gaze on him and turned his bearded face towards his prisoner. Despite the anger she had felt a moment ago, her face was already impassive her eyes wary and focused on the man.  _You wanna survive, you put your emotions aside._ The man lost interest in the ornamented, survival knife, he was playing with a moment ago and stuck it unrespectfully in a sturdy wooden table.

Though the cerulean eyes felt an urge to follow the knife, she decided against it, not wanting any emotions to affect her judgment. Even if this was the one she had got from her younger sister as a birthday present. The same one which happened to be so precious because of its sentimental value. The memento of her sister. The one and only thing which enabled her to feel her sister's presence, to reject everything that happened.

 _Sentimental value…_  She scoffed at herself in mind.  _You are bigger than shit like this._

The thoughts got quickly dismissed, though. She didn't let her mind wander, she kept it focused on the man who stood and closed the distance between them in a few lazy strides and examined her carefully, showing more impatience than excitement.

"Finally." He said rather plainly with only a hint of appreciation. The only answer he got, was a cold glare of her. Not that he expected any but the woman seemed for him strangely unconcerned by a situation she found herself in. Corner of his lips curved up a little bit as he recognized this kind of behavior as typical for a well-trained soldier. There was no need to bother with any other words. He turned and left, leaving her alone, pinned to the stone wall in this strange place.

Only then, when she was left alone, she let herself to occupy her mind by examining the surrounding thoroughly.

The place was dim, lightened only with a lantern here and there. There was not even a trace of sunlight so it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. That wasn't any kind of building made by a human, that was unmistakably a cavern. The cavern's walls were irregular with small and large cavities. She could even spot a few pillars, their shape only seemingly chaotic and disordered. They had numerous bulges and breaches, most of them were thinner in the bottom than in the upper part.

 _The water must have flowed here._  She noted to herself.

The shapes in stone had been clearly made by water and it hadn't been just dripping leisurely. The current must have been quite strong here and the water level changing. She wondered if it still happened flow in this place. If it did, the estimated chances of survival would be rather poor. With her hands chained to the rock, she had no chances to free herself. Even if she didn't drown, staying in cold water would lead to hypothermia quickly. What bothered her even more, was the fact that the rainy season in Gran Pulse was about to begin in a few, maybe a dozen days.

_If I don't get out of here until then, I'll learn the hard way how high the water level reaches._

The place was different from regular cave, though. The air was moist but it wasn't cold. It was rather warm… or that wasn't due to air. The stone. It wasn't as cold as it supposed to be. It wasn't really warm neither but its temperature was… pleasant?

_That's strange._

It was probably that, what kept the overall temperature in cave pleasant. She clung to the rock some more. It was rather large-grained and harsh for her skin. The feeling of touching it, brought to mind sharpening of her gunblade. The sandstone sharpener exactly.

She wondered if some Pulsian savage took the Blazefire Saber – her beloved gunblade. Without training and the knowledge how to fight with this exceptional weapon, it was only going to squander in the hands of someone unfitted to even hold it. The weapon - exclusive. Only for elitary, high-ranked soldiers, which had past special training so as to fully bring out the potential of this truly unique weapon. Its lightness fitted perfectly with her agility and the 'army of one' style of fighting. She was the one who gave birth to the style and she liked the name, despite she hadn't been the one who called it like that the first time. The name reflected the nature and the point of it – using unusual quickness and nimbleness to just appear and disappear from enemy's site of view, jumping from foe to foe, leaving deadly cuts and wounds. Just 'The Army of One'. The sharpness of the blade was its another quality. It could easily split the hair in half. Its accuracy, enabling her to shot down a tiny bird in flight. Its reliability and the finest craftsmanship, which allowed her to transform the sword form into the gun and the other way round in a fraction of a second without the fear that something might jam.

 _At least I know where this one is_. Her eyes came back to the survival knife she had got from her sister months earlier for her birthday.  _So practical…_  she had thought so then. Who could have known that was the exact day when her struggle for survival had begun. That was kind of paradox, she felt as if it all happened yesterday, though she also felt dozen years older.

She examined the cuffs on her wrists once again. They were solid and weren't going to budge no matter how many times she tried to free herself. Her wrists were held at the height of her head. High enough to keep her standing as long as her legs could support her. Whenever they couldn't, all her weight had to rest on her wrists, which were already achy because of doing so for goddess knew how long when she was out.

The sound of footsteps reached her ears. It was growing louder and louder and she could tell that at least three people were coming. The heavy clatter indicated that they were probably armed. Her assumptions were confirmed the moment the silhouettes emerged from one of the passages. There were four of them, all well-trained warriors. One of them stood out of the rest though. He was wearing black, well-fitted armor which seemed to not contract his movements at all and was probably giving him an additional advantage in dexterity. It clung to his body bringing out his muscles even more. The purple finishing and ornaments on it matched his eyes and long hair of the same color. A grape and black striped, folded bandana was tied around his head and a few feathers and beads were hanging from it, giving the man a pinch of mysticism. His jaw was square and strong, lips tight, overall expression rather serious. There was no doubt he was the one in charge.

The man stopped right in front of his prisoner, with the rest of the guards standing obediently just behind his back. He eyed her up and down with an uncommon scrutiny. He got no reaction to that, though. She only stared back into his eyes without blinking, her face showing no fear, no nervousness, not even anger or hater. It also didn't change when he spoke.

"She's the one. Free her hands and shall we begin." His voice was low and deep and there was definitely something mystical in the way he was taking.

Anyway, just after the words left his mouth, the two men from behind his back approached the woman and started working on her chains. She acknowledged that both of them had their own keys. This valuable information had been stored for later in the back of her mind, just before they twisted her arms behind her back and started to lead her behind, already receding in the dim passage, posture.

 

The pink-haired woman was being dragged back to the chamber she was kept in for some time earlier. She could feel the familiar, metallic taste of blood in her mouth and warm trickle was sipping from the cut on her lip, dripping to the stone here and there, staining it to intense, dark reddish color, marking the path. She wasn't a novice, she finished the commando training which prepared her for situations like the one she found herself into. She was aware of what it meant to be held captive. Countless interrogations, ceaseless tries to break her so as to obtain even the tiniest bit of information.

She sucked in her lip to prevent blood from trickling down her chin. They could beat her as much as they wanted, she wasn't going to sell her skin cheap. The physical pain didn't bother her as much as most people. To tell the truth, she had found herself in some dark moments of her life when the physical pain had felt like a liberation. Some people had even started to call her bloody knuckles, what had caused them bloody noses. Pushing boundaries of her combat training to the extent of physical pain had seemed to be the only way to deal with her untamable anger. Her grief such overwhelming that she would have done everything to just stop thinking. The constant struggle to not let the desperation to consume her all, day after day, bit by bit. For the exact moment, it had been great to stifle all these things, in the long run, it hadn't worked.

Her back hit the rock with such an impact that the air involuntarily left her lungs and refused to come back for a few seconds. By that time her left hand was already securely clasped and immobilized. She was no fool, she knew that with every day her chances of getting out of that place were shrinking significantly. Naivety was also foreign for her. That was nothing but logic to expect them to not be easy on her. Keeping her weak was in their business.

_So…_

There was only one man standing in front of her trying to chain her right hand to the unyielding rock. Before he could finish, she drove a foot into his crotch with all her might. The man's eyes widened so much that his eyeballs threatened to fall out of its sockets and his jaw dropped in an inaudible cry. The grip on women's right wrist loosened and she freed her hand easily. Split second later, the key was wrestled out of the man's palm.

_This is in my business to get out of here as fast as I can._

The man in front of her fell to his knees, clutching his genitals in both hands but another one was already running her way. The woman was aware that he would get to her before she would be able to free her second hand so she resigned from trying. Instead, she stiffened the muscles of her imprisoned arm, hopped with her left leg on the crouching man's shoulder and pushed firmly, jumping high and pulling up with her left arm in the same time. She half-rotated in the air just enough to drive her right feet into the approaching man's jaw. The kick would have been strong enough to stun even a gorgonopsid, so the human was out of her mind for some time.

While falling down, she smashed into the stone wall quite harshly but she was ready for that and to embrace the slight pain without slowing down her movements. She quickly started working the clasp on her right hand. Some fresh blood appeared on her wrist but there was no time to lick her wounds. With the corner of her eye she saw that the man, she kicked in the crotch, started to get up from his knees. He was still bent in half and was leaning with one hand on the wall while the second one was still between his legs. There was also the third man quickly approaching with his ax prepared, ready to swing with all his might.

_Common…_

Even with the key, the lock was working heavily but this time she managed to open it just before the man reached her. She saw him take a swing and her adrenaline spiked up immediately. The woman rolled over the back of ball-kicked Pulsian who was still bend in half and leaning on the wall. The clung of the weapon hitting the hard rock filled the air and it bounced off the empty halls, coming back a few times as an echo and followed by an angry growl of the one who missed his pray.

The moment her legs connected with the ground she shot forward with her best sprinter speed, running towards one of the passages and aiming to grab  ** _her_**  knife which was still stuck into the wooden table. That was indisputable that her chances in bare-handed combat with three armed, well-trained barbarians were poor. Well… she managed quite well so far but still, it would be insane to push her luck even further. However, with a knife, she was ready to show them, or anyone she would meet at her escape route, what she's capable of while using the short blade, relying mostly on her quickness, agility and combat instincts.

When she was just a few steps before her goal, another guard suddenly emerged from one of the passages, standing in her way. She almost bumped into him, still she managed to recoil and reroute, cursing in mind that she had to give up on the knife. She rushed into one of the passages, hoping that this one would lead her out to the surface. The passage was winding but it wasn't that what was bothering her. It started to become tighter and tighter.  _If it continues like that, it will quickly become…_ She froze with her eyes widened in disbelieve and mouth agape.  _You're fucking kidding me…_

Dead end.

She turned back helplessly, knowing that was the end of her escape but before she could even face the opponents properly, she was struck in the head with some blunt weapon. The world around her started to lose its sharp curves and colors immediately. The knees refused to hold her up, she fell on all fours and, not long later, all the surrounding went blank.


	3. The Huntress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another chapter for you. I wish the happy new year for everyone and special thanks for LadyWolvie82 for beta reading after such a long time of my absence.
> 
> Enjoy!

She was falling, hard. She could feel that. She was falling with her back to the ground… except that there was no ground. Grand Pulse disappeared from under her feet and there was only black, dark emptiness engulfing her from each side. Was she even falling or was she just hanged in the emptiness? Some doubt nested in her mind. But just a while ago she was getting further and further away, throwing her hand up, trying to reach… What was she trying to reach? There was nothing above her no matter how far she stretched her arm. She was already far away, gone, abandoned in the void thick of sorrow.

Her eyes shut ever so tightly, and her arm reached up once again, as a last resort. Full of desperation, stripped of hope yet still, she kept searching for what was already lost.  _No… wait_.  _Don't go…_ She heard herself whisper into the very emptiness, but sound waves seemed to not propagate in there. She wanted to try once again, to call but the last breath of air had already left her lungs. With no air to make her vocal chords vibrate, all she could do now was to mouth the name she knew so well, the one she wasn't ready to let go yet… the one she wasn't ready to forget ever. The name's owner… that's who her hand was trying desperately to reach but the warmth of another hand never came.

The void and the stupor started to slowly give place to slight pain. Barely noticeable at first, easy overlook, then harder and harder to ignore when it started to escalate with every single beat of her heart. For a while she thought her organs must have been misplaced as the pumping of blood was the most intense in her head instead of her chest. Hell, it was getting strong enough to slowly drag her out of the nothingness she found herself in. By the time she started to distinguish sounds, she was sure that the crimson liquid, which was responsible for distributing oxygen in her system, would rip her skull apart.

She opened one of her eyes ever so slightly, with a painful grimace on her face _. Stone. Lit torch. Stone passages. Pulsian warrior. Stone columns. Wooden table. Even more stone._  Well… she seemed to be in the exact the same place as before. At least this time the pounding in her head distracted her from the pain in her wrists.

Her knees straightened up to put out the pressure from her hands. As she moved her leg, she heard quiet clinging this time. Her eyes dropped down to the space between her ankles and her gaze focused on the chain hanging from one ankle to another.

_Tch…looks like my vain attempt to run away made them dust off their brains and maybe they'll start to use them… unfortunately._

The guard acknowledged that the woman woke up, but this time he didn't go to inform his boss. He just looked at her and went back to whatever he was doing… which was sitting in the chair and doing nothing.

The light of the torch was dim, but it still was too bright for her and was only deepening her headache. Despite the pain, she whipped the grimace out of her face, equipping it in its typically dissatisfied expression.

* * *

**"** **Indifference. That's the only way. The moment they see the slightest piece of your weakness, you lose it. They will feast on that like a predator, feeling that they're close to breaking you. Do not show them anything. Any emotions, any pain, any needs. Do not make it easier for them. Be an impenetrable stone." The man in sumptuous, military uniform stopped in front of the modest group of recruits to sweep them all. "You'll train the captive situation in pairs for five days then you change places. Everything that doesn't make permanent damage for health or physical condition, allowed. Interrogators, I count on your creativity. Captives, good person at your right is your pair." The pink haired woman looked to her right but there was no one there. She was on the verge. She looked left to check if there is anyone without pair but then she spotted the man stopping just before her eyes. The exact man who was speaking a moment ago.**

**"** **Farron."**

**"** **Yes, sir?" She asked, her voice full of confidence and unwavering, back perfectly straight. He had his hands crossed behind his back and was watching her carefully as if measuring an opponent.**

**"** **You train with me." His eyes narrowed when the thinnest smirk appeared on his face. "And since I no longer need to train the captive side, it's whole 10 days for you."**

* * *

_Impenetrable stone, huh?_  She looked around seeing the passages and different shapes hollowed in stone by water.  _So much for impenetrable…_

The pink fringe was falling on her eyes but… well, she couldn't use her hands to brush it off and she wouldn't risk any sharp movement of her head. Trying to blow it from her eyes was an option but she decided to not bother. The picture of the surrounding was safely stored in her mind anyway and there didn't seem to be anything different.

She had time. There was nothing more she could do to improve her situation now, so she started to rummage through this storage of memories. Analyzing the recent ones was harder than she thought. The whole attempt of escape was blurry, probably because of the head injury. With enough amount of effort, she was able to recall most of it though. The number of crossings, the turns she took, and the location of the dead end. The last one was the most crucial. Stumbling across it again would be just… well, it would be just stupid of her to not learn on her mistakes and it would probably cost her 's not some mindless moth bumping the light bulb once after another. Every piece of information was useful for the next try. Supposing that there would be the next try. She would have to do something about the chain between her ankles first, though. Then find a way out of that labyrinth, avoiding being knocked cold again in the meantime.

 _Right._ She thought, taking a cleansing breath.  _A piece of cake._

Suddenly there was some rumble down one of the passages and female voice could be heard. It was still too far away to distinguish exact words but gradually it was getting more and more audible. She stopped listening. Her attention snapped back to the guardian who stood up from his chair and started his lazy walk towards the same passage the voice was coming from. _This one must lead me to the exit._

"Heeey, Shammu. Anythin' new?" Now she could hear the voice more clearly. It was low pitched and had a thick, strong Pulsian accent but also definitely feminine. Its tone was clearly indicating that the woman she was about to see was the confident one and doesn't give a shit about what people think about her. "How is the sleepin' princess?"

 _The sleeping princess?_  The woman made an actual effort to try to remove the pink fringe from her eyes with a move of her head, that only gave her more pain.

"Awake." She heard an answer from the man who was guarding her just a while ago.  _I guess it does refer to me. Tch..._

"Too bad, there is no need for a wake-up kiss."

The prisoner's brows shot to the roots of her pink hair when she tried to imagine this absurd situation. For a moment here, her mind was more blank than her face, but she quickly composed herself again, hearing the steps of the owner to this intriguingly perky - but also a little bit intimidating voice.

The woman was approaching in a quite quick but brisk pace. Her steps were steady and graceful at the same time. She was tall, and her shoulders were muscled from years of weapon wielding. That's at least what the pinkette assumed seeing red spear at woman's back. She was wearing a blue, Pulsian sari. It was spreading from her left shoulder to the right hip and then went behind her back, tied in some wicked way, which made it cover woman's backside and hang leisurely covering completely woman's right leg but leaving convenient split for the left one. On her legs were almost knee high, leather, strapped sandals. Airy but, thanks to the sturdy leather, able to protect shins from minor injuries and scratches. Made for Gran Pulse climate and wildlife.

 _The huntress._  The prisoner noted to herself. She did her homework before getting to Gran Pulse, and she knew that the attire the woman was wearing was traditional sari of Gran Pulse huntresses. She read a lot about how it is precisely sewed and tied, to give full comfort in a fight. How it completely does not restrict any movement human body is capable of, how the fabric is of best quality and carefully selected, enabling noiseless sneaking and silky enough to just perfectly cling to the body where needed or just falling freely and dancing in unison with a wind where loosely released. However, she couldn't help huge doubts from forming in her mind.  _Does not constrict any movement? I do not know how she is even able to walk in it without tripping or walking on the front part. No one is going to convince me this bullshit is the actual truth. Well… unless I try it myself and am proved wrong… which is, considering my current situation, highly unlikely._

"My, my, what a prey we've caught 'ere." Mused clearly entertained woman, stopping just in front of her prisoner, who decided to ignore the derogatory comment. She was aware that being humiliated and beaten was going to happen daily - so the sooner she got used to it, the better.

Her muscles tensed in alert when she saw the huntress leaning closer with the hand reaching toward her face. How surprised she was when the slender fingers brushed the rest of the pink hair off her face and tugged them behind her ear.

"Ahh… That's way better, isn't it?"

Cerulean blue eyes rose to measure the Pulsian, who stood there with her hands on her hips and with clearly satisfied with herself expression. Then, when nothing was obscuring her vision and the light was better, she could see some more details. Her complexion was slightly darker than most people she knew back on Cocoon, but it wasn't brown yet. Sun over Gran Pulse can be scorching as hell, she doubted that it's sun's fault, though. The pieces of Pulsian's body, which weren't covered by the sari, undeniably showed a rich amount of solid muscle everywhere from the base of her leg, through half-uncovered abs, slender fingers, sculpted forearms to finish with strong shoulders. She could tell just after a few glances that the woman had to be strong but, in contrast to the guard she saw earlier, her muscles weren't overgrown. _They probably let her maintain a good proportion of strength and agility. This one will probably give me a little bit more trouble…_  The biggest problem was getting a weapon. Once she had that she could deal with most of these apes. The truth is, the bigger they are the slower are their movements and she knew just fine where to cut to slow them even more and finish the job if there was time for this one though, it was hard to tell… and her confidence was unsettling.  _Unless it's only boldness out of stupidity._  When she finished estimating the level of hazard her eyes went further up. The woman was half of the head higher with a thick mane of dark hair wildly blown by the wind. They were mostly let looseand falling on her back over the shoulders. Some tiny braids were visible on each side of her head and tugged behind her ears. Probably an attempt to keep the hair in check to some purple earrings in the shape of fangs were hanging from her ears. There were also two necklaces. One of them was short, finished with a colorless crystal on the height of her collarbone. The second one, longer, made from a variety of colorful beads and ornaments, hanging down her cleavage to the black top, which kept her breasts firmly in cerulean eyes decided to not linger too much on this specific part of the huntress' body and went back to the face only to see her lips, a little bit fuller then her own and curved in a lopsided grin. She noted also shapely nose, high cheekbones and a beauty spot just under her right eye. The lopsided grin grew bigger when their eyes met finally.  _Green…that's a rare color_. However, that wasn't about color. The eyes were narrowed and piercing, clearly intended to be intimidating. Even she could feel the slight spike of adrenaline when these eyes were trying to drill through her and reach the core of her being. You know how it is when you look into predator's eyes – you cannot avert the gaze. That would be the sign of weakness and signal for a predator to attack.  _You want to survive, you need to hold the gaze and fight back._  That's what she did. She stared back into the jade eyes with unwavering confidence. Her cold cerulean eyes shooting icicles and sustaining the impenetrable wall of ice just behind them. Oh, she was aware her own gaze could be… or not only  _could_  but most of the times  _was_  intimidating and seeping with scorn. Once she heard rumors among young recruitsthat she could freeze the water with a stare.  _Complete absurd…_  Though, she never really proved them wrong.

So that was what she did, she fought back the scrutinous gaze what seemed to excite the Pulsian even more, as her smirk grew bigger. Any other expression was unnecessary, so she just kept it how she liked it – plain and impassive.

"Well… I like what I'mseein'." Commented the dark-haired woman letting out a small laughter.

_Go fuck yourself._

The Cocoonian was always proud of her ability to control her emotions. It was harder with her tongue. She had tended to snap back at officers with a higher rank, what had caused her decent amount of trouble but after years she finally mastered the ability to bite her tongue too. She was taught in a hard way that talking back when you're in no position to do so wasn't the best idea. Saying some thoughts aloud, when it wasn't necessary, could bring her only more inconvenience. Especially when she was still Guardian Corp sergeant and had orders to follow. Her employers didn't like her talking her mind, so she found it unnecessary to inform them that she was going to take care of the problem her way. Just if she was effective, they didn't ask the questions. It didn't mean that the retorts to didn't come to her mind, though.

"Oerba Yun Fang. I'm 'ere to watch over ya and make sure ya won't do anythin' stupid. Ya can call me Fang."

_Tch… I doubt I'll need that._

"It's your turn to give me your name I guess."Fang added; and when she got no answer, it didn't help at all. She let out a resigned breath. "Yeah, they've told me ya are not the talkative one but ya are stuck with me for the rest of the day and probably more in the nearest future. It's just more fun talkin'  **with**  someone than talkin'  **to**  someone." The Pulsian shook her head huffing under her nose with a mild amusement. "Still not a word, huh?" There was a small pause and the pinkette started to wonder when the Pulsian would stop waiting for her answers. "I heard that even Caius wasn't able to make ya sing."

_Caius. He must be the one who should interrogate me._

"Unfortunately, he's not the one to give up easily. He'll be back." Fang's expression grew more serious and for just a tiny moment she could swear that she saw the trail of concern in the jade eyes."With less and less patience every next time. That's your choice." She shrugged and started to walk back in the direction of the table and chair. She unclasped her red spear from a harness on her lower back and leaned it on the wall then she grabbed the backrest of the chair and started dragging it closer to the prisoner. The chair made the screeching noise, its legs scraping on the raw stone, before it was spun around with its back towards the prisoner and the huntress sat, straddling it with her legs and leaning with her forearm on the backrest.

"I have to admit, I've been excited to meet ya. Ya're already a legend 'ere. Ya gave us a lot of trouble to catch ya. Many fine warriors have died because of ya. I heard about your quickness and how ya're able to exploit the terrain against us. Ya, the foreigner, exploitin' our home against us. Intriguin' as hell. I wish I was there, so I could try ya myself or at least watch ya in action. To check if ya really are as good as they say - or they only exaggerate your prowess, because it took them so damn long to take ya alive."

The pink haired woman stood there attentively, watching suspiciously the Pulsian. She couldn't get, what all that talking was for. Were they going to play a good and a bad cop?  _If you think I'm going to fall for that you're seriously mistaken._

The Pulsian seemed rather relaxed, sitting leisurely in the chair. "Yeah, I know ya won't tell me. There is some way to check how good ya are, though." She twirled the bunch of keys around her finger a few times and the provocative smirk appeared on her face.

The prisoner's heart quickened but she tried to look just as impassive as earlier.  _Is it even possible to be so foolish and cocky?_  Well, she always tended to underestimate people's stupidity but this one didn't seem to be a total idiot.  _Cocky, yes. Stupid, no._ Anyway, she made sure to get ready in case the huntress decided to free her. Her eyes observed watchfully as her jailer got up from the chair and slowly closed the distance between them with lips curved, eyes a little bit shady.

"That's one heck of the way to check."The Pulsian stopped just in front of her as if weighing the options or just to taunt her. "That's temptin' as hell to see what ya're really made of…" She bit her lip seizing her opponent and considering options."Ahh… But I'm no fool." There was a decent amount of disappointment in brunettes voice before she winked and pinned the keys back to her belt. "They would skin me alive if ya escaped."

The playful attitude of Fang started to irritate her. Somehow, she wasn't in the mood to play.

A small frown appeared at Fang's face as if she was considering her earlier words. "Though I pretty much doubt that." The frown quickly gave place to a confident smile. "No person or beast I haven't been able to hunt down so far." She blew out a long, disappointed breath, having to turn down the challenge she was so eager to take. "If not for Vanille, I would gladly take the risk… but it's not only my fate I'm responsible for." The imprisoned woman stored another piece of information.  _Vanille. Whoever she is, Oerba Yun Fang seems to be deeply concerned about her well-being. You never know when some information may come in handy… And Fang doesn't seem to be secretive one. Good._

"Boss is oddly interested in all of ya. I wonder why."

The sentence caught her attention. It confirmed her assumptions.  _I'm not the only one here. All my squad is here… or dead by now._

People always underestimated the value of good reconnaissance. They prefer to run headfirst into a battle. Surveillance is a key when you need to take care of something quietly, minimize losses or to survive in a hopeless situation…  _Just like mine._

"Ah, anyway. We need a name for ya, don't we?" The Cocoonian didn't answer but Fang expected that this time. "Since ya won't tell me, I need to make it up on my own." She furrowed her brows thinking deeply and leaned her chin on her fist. "Hmm…" She murmured traveling slowly with her eyes up and down the prisoner. Finally, her eyes stopped at the height of the Cocoonian's breasts. A little smile appeared on her face was what surprised the pink haired woman at first, and then caused the anger inside of her to grow. It grew even more when a trace of embarrassment started to appear in her head.

"What do we have 'ere?" The Pulsian leaned down to take a better look. The pinkhead's anger peaked and her cerulean eyes were the killing ones. Her hand was itching, yearning to slap the insolent woman. Unfortunately, both of her hands were tied, and balling and straining them didn't do a damn thing. She saw huntresses hand reach toward her chest to take…  _The pendant_ … _She was looking at the pendant_. For a while, she felt like an idiot. She even blinked twice before her eyes went back to express nothingness. The situation already gone from her mind. She decided to just leave it behind, seeing no point in analyzing it, wanting to just forget, too embarrassed to dwell upon her mind's interpretation of the situation.

"Lightnin' bolt, huh?" The brunette took her back to reality with her low voice. She let the lightning bolt shaped pendant go. "Lightnin'. I like it." Her smile looked satisfied. "I hope ya like it too because ya didn't give me much of a choice."

Surprisingly, she did like it. To tell the truth, she liked it more than her real name. Surprisingly, it was familiar to her… Not that she showed it somehow. Her eyes were still staring back at the brunette coldly. The brunette who took a few steps back and was sweeping her eyes through the prisoner, stroking her chin and nodding to herself with deep satisfaction.

"Yeah. Lightnin'." The familiar smirk appeared on her face. "Quick, deadly and stunnin'."


	4. Quick, Deadly and Stunning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaay, I know some time passed but, now, my focus is on this story ;) My goal is to make it... captivating... (what an irony...with Lightning being held captive xD) Well, we'll see when I finish.
> 
> LadyWolvie82 - thanks for editing!
> 
> Enjoy!

Lightning was dragged back into her cell. This time around, there were two of them pinning her back to the wall, waiting until her wrists were securely clasped and unmovable. There wasn't any possibility to free herself from their grip. Savages or not, even the Pulsians were learning on their mistakes. Anyway, Lightning's mind was distracted enough to pay little attention to the escape possibilities. When the prisoner was safely immobilized, one of them stayed in the room, keeping an eye on her and the other one left.

She was breathing slowly but heavily, sucking in the air through her clenched teeth. Trying to slow her heartbeat to the standard rate. That wasn't easy with the random patches on her body burning. The itching soreness shooting through them and traveling straight to her brain. The smell of burnt skin was still present in her nostrils making her sick.  _In and out, Farron. In and out._ She made her best to calm her breathing and fight down mild nausea.

It took some time before Lightning was able to ignore the fresh wounds and focus her mind properly again.  _It'll take more than that to break me_. She got back to sucking in as much information from the environment as she could, sorting and storing them in her mind. From no better thing to do, she dusted off a big part of the information she had learned about Gran Pulse, before even setting a foot in this world. She tried to count the flow of time but, since she had gotten there, she hadn't had the privilege of seeing the daylight so the cause was lost. The only thing she could count was the end of shift of the guards. The number of how many times they changed, became her measure of time.

Here it was. Another shift change. This time her eyes caught the glimpse of the blue fabric and she immediately knew whose turn it was.  _Fang._

"Mornin' Lightnin'." The woman threw into Light's direction without a care in the world. "Anythin' new today?" She asked stopping in front of her prisoner and eyeing her carefully. Lightning wasn't sure if Fang was really hoping for an answer some day, or if she was mocking her, or if these questions just became a thoughtless habit of her. At least she got a glimpse of the time of the day.  _Morning…_

"Still nothin', huh?" The huntress asked rhetorically, but it wasn't the end of this one-sided conversation they've been having. "Ya know… they've started taking bets. Some morons here are convinced that ya can't speak…"  _Tch…_ _Ridiculous…_  A nagging urge to scoff started to bother her, but she pushed it back where it came from, showing nothing but unconcern.

"But I know it's not the case at all." She said, drilling her knowing eyes into hers. "Ya think ya're some tough badass who can endure everythin', but can ya really?" The huntress cocked her head looking at her with some smug curiosity. She took a few steps back, still keeping her gaze on the other woman. Lightning's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, watching as the woman sat on the chair leisurely and threw her long legs on the table.

The comment was clearly provocative, and it caused some unpleasant warmness to gather in the pinkette's stomach. It dispersed quickly but not before it found Lightning asking herself the same question.  _Can I? Endure everything?_ Somehow the question didn't relate at all to the things the Pulsian troops had in stock for her. She had been striving to endure long well before she got here.

Fang took out a pouch, unscrewed the cap slowly, poured some water into her mouth and swallowed. There was no need for her to look to be completely aware of the cerulean eyes still observing her closely. That was when Lightning saw one corner of her mouth go up again and her face turned back to look at Lightning with a smug expression.

"At least now I can be sure ya understand what I'm sayin' to ya… with that look ya just gave me a short time ago." Lightning was perplexed. She was aware that there might have been some shift in her gaze but the change was so indistinct that she doubted anyone could catch that. "It's about the details, ya know? This tiny twitch in your facial muscles before you manage to stifle it." The huntress chuckled under her breath. "That's a load off. I bet some gil, so it's good to know that ya're definitely not deaf."

Fang's words stung her ears but this time she was sure her facial expression didn't change one bit.  _Thanks for the motivation to keep my mouth shut._ Now she knew that she had to be extra careful around this one. Another reason to not let her focus falter.

"Want some?" Fang shook the pouch in her hand and got up to her feet without waiting for any answer. She stopped just before the prisoner and hold the pouch in front of her eyes. "It's just water in here, but water is better than notin'." The prisoner's eyes skipped from Fang to the pouch and back. They seemed conflicted. Finally, Light's lips parted and she let the Oerban pour some water inside.

"Ya're not as naughty as they say." Fang said just after Light's lips closed again but then a trace of impish gleam appeared in the cerulean eyes. The mouthful of water was spat straight in her face before she had any chance to react. Lightning saw the brunette wiping her face with a long groan and facing again the gleam that she was sure didn't disappear just yet.

Her face yanked to the side as Fang backhanded her. The hit was quite strong, but it wasn't anything that could cause any real damage. She started to turn her head slowly back and she just couldn't help the smirk forming on her lips. The moment she faced Fang, it was already full-blown and her eyes were staring challengingly from under the pink strands.

The Pulsian's brows shoot up seeing the challenge just in front of her. "Oh, ya still have some bite left in ya." Her eyes narrowed and Lightning could see the little, excited sparkles jumping there, just before the corners of her lips turned slightly up. "Fine. Ya don't want to drink the water, I won't force ya." Then she got back to her chair, finishing to wipe her face dry on the way.

That was probably the most foolish thing Lightning did so far, and she knew she would clearly regret it with time. However, at this exact moment she was convinced that if she could reverse time, she would do it again and again. If she could reverse time. That was a clue… She would do so many things in her life differently…

Her expression grew solemn again and her mind drifted off to some dark place full of regrets. If she didn't need to keep up the appearances, she would sigh heavily but here she could only let herself sunk her head slightly and close her eyes for a fleeting moment.

When she opened them again, they focused on the very pendant dangling down from her neck. The silver lightning bolt contour filled with black enamel and two square crystals on the right side. One yellow, one blue, visible even if the color lost its vividness in the dimness of this place. That little thing brought out a lot of memories…

XXX

**Claire Farron passed the cheering crowd quickly. She wanted to be out of this shady place as soon as she could, but there was one more thing she had to do. Her frown deepened as she adjusted a duffle bag on her shoulder and sucked in her cut lip. It was swollen and itchy but stopped bleeding at least. She approached the dark-skinned man sitting on the desk with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He was busy counting the bills in his hands.**

**Claire's palm appeared on the desk in front of him, getting his attention.**

**"What can I do for you, missy?" He asked breathing out the smoke from his lungs and putting out his cigarette.**

**"I've just won a fight out there…" she nodded in the direction of the shouting crowd "came for my share."**

**"Yea, yea, I've seen you. That'd be the third fight won in a row." He said mildly intrigued but, still, he didn't seem exceptionally content with that fact.**

**"Apparently." She cut the conversation short watching the man crossing something out in his worn notebook.**

**"Aren't you too young for this shit, huh? What do you do this for?" He eyed her from over the bills in his hands. A pinch of disapproval lingered in his gaze.**

**"Guess the same reason as the rest of them."Claire answered with a shrug, giving the money a purposeful glare. If she acknowledged the disapprobation in the man's eyes, her unconcerned demeanor didn't give it away.**

**"What? Parents cut off your pocket money?" He placed a few bills on the desk between them.**

**"That's none of your business." This time the shift in her was evident as her voice grew hostile and the muscles in her jaw tensed visibly. She reached for the money without taking her eyes off him.**

**"Hey, I'm paying you, missy, so it is my business." The man put his palm on the desk with a heavy thud just next to Claire's, his fingertips pining the cash purposefully. Claire's heart rate quickened. She wasn't the one to get intimidated easily, though. Her eyes narrowed at him as she took the money slowly and shoved them into her pocket. Then she took a step back without any other word and turned her back at him. The girl was about to leave when she hesitated and looked over her shoulder. That man ran the place, so getting on his bad side wasn't in her best interest.**

**"They're both dead…" She threw over her shoulder and started walking towards the exit without waiting for any reaction.**

**XXX**

**A week later, Claire Farron had found herself facing the man once again.**

**"I've seen you in the ring today. You've put on quite a good show out there." He greeted her with a little bit more enthusiasm than the last time but he was still eyeing her suspiciously.**

**"Yeah. I guess so."**

**"Cheerful as always." He muttered under his nose but grew serious quite quickly. "Listen. People start to ask about you. They see a golden goose in you." Claire raised her brow in interest and looked into the direction the man pointed with his head. "Some of them asked me to pass a word to you… In case you needed some sponsorship." She said nothing, as her eyes widened in surprise. That was a perfect opportunity. She needed the cash. They had it. She had a talent for kicking peoples' asses. They really needed someone with that kind of talent to make even more cash for them. Tempting… Though, the black-skinned man didn't seem very thrilled with the idea. She chewed on the inside of her cheek when her eyes skimmed through the group of men sitting just across the room. Her eyes meet with one of them briefly just before she got back into the discussion.**

**"I'm good on my own." She answered with a sigh. She promised her sister numerous times that she wouldn't come back here again… and here she was. How was she supposed to keep them fed with only a part-time job? They were barely making ends meet. Every time the finances grew thin she was dragged to this place like a moth to fire. However, fighting in the pit was one thing and sinking into this shady circle was the other. There was no way Claire could let herself do it. She promised… and that was all she could do… at least that. Their life was rich in trouble anyway. They didn't need more.**

**"Wise decision." The man nodded with appreciation. "Wouldn't like to deal with any of them."**

**Unfortunately, the man she made eye contact with a moment earlier now approached them. A wide grin on his face, a smell of stale beer dragged behind him.**

**"Another fight won, I have to admit that I'm impressed, love." He said eyeing her from toes to head but Claire only stared at him blankly finding no defined question in the sentence. His general demeanor and the half-patronizing, half-rapacious way he was looking at her, created a surge of disgust in her body. Still, in this place it was better to play things cool. "I bet that Sazh here…" he nodded towards the black man, "has already filled you in with my proposition." He continued and this time awaited an answer impatiently.**

**"Yeah, he has. Thanks for the offer, but I'm good on my own." Her answer and, moreover, the unconcerned, almost bored, tone took him aback. He didn't get as much attention as he expected, hell, he got almost none and it wasn't the way he liked it.**

**"Oh, I'm sure of it. However, you could be so much better with _proper guidance_." He got closer to the juvenile. Insistently. Claire's muscles tensed with a flinch, ready to cause some trouble if need be. That was when Sazh slammed his palm on the desk between the two of them.**

**"You've heard the lady, Bobby. She doesn't want your dirty money."**

**"That's because she doesn't know yet…" So-called Bobby tried to convince them both but Sazh wasn't prone to discuss cutting him off half sentence.**

**"She's heard enough. Now, back off before I have you dragged out of here."**

**The men were starring into each other eyes gravely, none of them eager to give in. That was Bobby who broke first.**

**"You're ruining your own business, old man." He said with a scoff and left.**

**Claire let out a breath she didn't know she was keeping in the entire time. Slowly though. She didn't want Sazh to get a glimpse of the fear, she had barely pushed back deep into some forgotten place inside her.**

**"Yea… your share, right?" Sazh's voice brought her attention back to him just as the other man reached the table he was sitting at earlier. She looked at the wad of cash lying in front of her. It wasn't big and she doubted the old man would gull her but she decided to count it anyway. Good practice.**

**"You can sign with me for the end of next week…" Suddenly, she froze looking at the bills in her hands losing interest in arranging the next fight. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Something wasn't right. "That's too much…" She said, raising her still confused eyes up but they didn't meet the other pair. Sazh was too occupied flicking through his notebook.**

**"Yea, yea… consider it a 'good customer bonus'." The old man answered with a dismissive wave of his hand, not tearing his eyes away from the yellowed page. The bills in Claire's right hand were folded carefully and shoved down her pocket. Though, the bills from the left one were put back before the old man.**

**"I don't want your dirty money…" Her serious tone tore him away from the sloppy scribbles as his eyes widened in surprise. He stared at her for a good moment, his brows high at the roots of the black afro. The girl's stomach turned when she realized that she might have just crossed the line. Again, her pride and tongue faster than her mind but her eyes ready to stand up for what she just said. Relief took over her body as Sazh burst out laughing. His reaction made even corners of her mouth rise a little bit.**

**"Oh, I like you. You've got balls." He commented, still chuckling under his nose and pointed with a pencil on the page in his notebook. "That would be just right for you. Friday night?"**

**"Will do."**

**"Claire, right?" He mused more to himself but stopped the pencil half the word and raised his eyes to her chewing on his bottom lip, thinking. "You know, you could earn more if you had some fun nickname."**

**"Oh?" The comment took her off-guard while she was collecting her things to get out.**

**"I saw you in there..." He pointed at the arena with the pencil. " _Lightning_  will fit you well. What do you say?"**

**"Um… Al-right…" The hesitance nature crawled into her voice. It wasn't because she disliked the nickname. All in all, it wasn't that bad. She was just baffled that, despite the whole idea popped up seconds earlier, _Lightning_  seemed to already stick to her.  _That was quick…_**

**"Lightning it is."**

**XXX**

**Claire 'Lightning' Farron was sitting on the wooden bench in an old locker room, finishing to wrap her fists in the bandages. She was calm and focused. As always before a fight. She rolled the bandage the last time around her knuckles and finished the pass on the wrist. Her palm balled into a fist, then opened and balled again. She threw a testing punch into the air then pulled her hand back inspecting it closely. Her wrist made a few circles clockwise and the other way round then her fingers wiggled. They were comfortable. The bandage held securely the wrist joint and all the movable bones but didn't constrain her movements. _Perfect._ She finally figured how to do it properly. A content smile appeared on her face and that was when she saw Sazh standing at the door.**

**"Ready?" He asked leaning on the door frame. There was no actual door, only the frame remained. Generally, the place looked shabby. The paint was falling off the walls in uneven patches, the bench, she was sitting on, had two broken rungs, the lockers were rusty, some of them dented.**

**"I guess so." She answered, still a little bit surprised to see him. No one had ever before gone down to the locker room to see her before a fight so that was unexpected. Hell, she had never seen Sazh on the down level at all.**

**"I've got something for you." He entered the room taking advantage of her surprise and opened his palm. Something slipped down from it and was now dangling down from his fingers. A silver necklace with a lightning bolt shaped pendant. It was black inside with two gemstones on the side and little, shiny crystals at the peak of the bolt. She started shaking her head in refusal but he spoke again before she managed to mouth her protest out. "The more popular you are, the more money you and me both get from this. So it's to our advantage to catch some more attention for you." She chewed at her bottom lip for a while, considering, staring warily at the pendant then at Sazh and, finally, taking it into her palm.**

**"Lightning, huh?" She breathed out a slight amusement, clasping the necklace around her neck.**

**"Yea." The man chuckled along with her. "Gonna go now. And you show them how lightning strikes." He said with a wink and started to walk back towards the exit.**

**Lightning looked at the pendant hanging down her neck and raised her eyes to Sazh's back just before he reached the doorframe. Some newfound determination was sparkling in the cerulean orbs and even a small confident smile appeared on her face. Oh, yeah. She liked her nickname.**

**"Consider it done."**


	5. The Most Precious Currency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. I hope you're not too confused by the lack of chronology in the memories... cuz it's gonna get worse xD
> 
> Thanks for LadyWolvie82 for being my steadfast beta.

Darkness… again. Lightning, surrounded by an empty void. The place might be all too familiar to her, ever since she became a regular there. Although, there was no chance of her ever getting completely used to it. The air - thick with anxiety. The fear, the same fear that she had banished from her everyday life, bubbling up to the surface right then and there, sticking to her skin, filling her lungs threatening to suffocate her. Chaos spreading in all directions. This time around it’s only one flickering glow-tube lamp in the middle, lightening the narrow table with its white glow.

Lightning’s heart sunk as she took the first trembling step into its direction. The table wasn’t empty. White sheets were hanging down half the way to the cold blue tiles, covering the posture lying just beneath it, giving away only a shape. A cruel glimpse of what was hidden there. Lightning tried to fasten her pace, to get to the table quicker, to get over with that and stop stretching this torment in time. However, her legs just didn’t want to listen to her. They insisted on taking one slow step at a time. Dragging her unwilling body closer and closer until… she was there. The air stopped in her lungs as she stretched her trembling hands towards the sheets and gripped on the hem. Carefully, she pulled part of the sheet away only to unravel the pink hair, even more vivid than her own, and the pale, innocent face she knew so well.

“Oh, Serah…” She whispered as all strength left her and she needed to lean on the corner of the table. Hot tears started to run down her face. One of them dripped down and shattered against the still cheek of her sister. In this exact moment, Serah’s eyes opened wide abruptly. Her dead, unseeing eyes staring straight into Lightning’s. She jumped in terror stumbling against her own insubordinate legs and she started falling. A long way down, into the darkness.

XXX

She woke up moments later, breathing heavily. Her ribs were barely able to contain the heart bumping against them over and over. Her widened in fear eyes skimmed through the surrounding, and she slowly started to realize just where she was. That wasn’t the case until she found the emerald ones staring back into hers. These eyes conflicted, filled with a mix of curiosity, confusion and just a little shadow of concern.

Lightning then forced her breathing to calm down and somehow composed herself in no time. Despite the plain mask on her face, her insides were still turning painfully. The very image of her sister’s dead eyes being impossible to push out of her brain.

She could see Fang’s frown soften as the pinkette straightened against the wall getting back into her usual impassiveness. A breathy laughter left the brunette’s mouth when she shook her head unbelievingly. Her eyes dropped back onto the blade of her spear. She started moving her hand against it again with some object gripped securely in her palm. The characteristic sound of sharpening steel filled the room.

“Not the happiest dream you were havin’ there, huh?”Fang’s eyes rose back to Light’s face when she continued to sharpen her spear. A few seconds later she blew at the edge to get rid of the steel dust, then she wiped it with a cloth and got up on her feet to put her spear on the weapon rack. On her way back, she stopped before Lightning, eyeing her with nothing but pure curiosity.

“If only they knew just what terrifies you so much, things would be way easier… for both sides.” The brunette looked at her prisoner meaningfully. “Think about it. Is there really any point in prolongin’ this?” Lightning didn’t show any recognition to the words but she could easily imagine what the woman had in mind. She knew and she wasn’t going to give her future another thought. It was safer not to. It was safer to assume at this point that there’s no future for herself at all.

“They’ll make ya suffer until they break ya.” That wasn’t much of a surprise that they would send someone to play her even here. To plant a grain of doubt in her, so its roots would slowly grow into her, leaving cracks in her consistency. Cracks that would beg for it being exploited. She was trained for that though.

“I don’t imagine any happy endin’ for ya here.” The tiny traces of anxiety or maybe even compassion in Fang’s eyes awakened a little bit of curiosity in her. She didn’t expect to find any of these in the Gran Pulse savage. Her confusion didn’t last long, as her mind quickly found the most reasonable explanation. She barely held back a scoff. _Really, Fang? A bad cop and a good cop? You can try that trick with some rookies, but not me._ She was aware that the technique proved to be very useful and successful in many cases. It was a perfect choice for the interrogation of civilians. However, she was a professional.

“I doubt ya would be let go freely no matter if ya start talkin’ or not but ya can shorten your sufferin’. Maybe they’d even keep ya alive if ya proved to be useful.”

_Shorten my suffering? I’d like that…_ A sad irony crawled into her mind. She remembered these countless moments from months ago when she had thrived to shorten her suffering even at that point. To end it, everything that is a part of her life, right then and there, once and for all. It hadn’t felt right one bit. Every time the disapproving face had visualized itself in her mind. So similar to her own but with much softer features. Until it came to her that maybe that was the only way to honor this face. To reject the cowardish way. To keep on suffering.

“Honestly, I’d rather stay away from this shit but we all do things that we have to do, right?” Lightning watched as the Pulsian sighed heavily, finally letting go of any remains of empathy. With that, her expression darkened somewhat. “To protect our home.” With that sentence, Fang’s voice then adopted a more serious, hard-bitten timbre. It was verging on accusatory and one glance into her eyes confirmed all of that. “To protect our family.” Fang’s eyes narrowed hostile on Lightning. This woman made it clear that the safety of her family was fundamental for her. Clearly, she wouldn’t hesitate to do anything to guarantee it. _Message received. I respect that._ To tell the truth, Lightning could relate to Fang in this case… if only she hadn’t messed up so badly.

“Ya want to protect yours too, right?”Lightning stayed silent. The woman had clearly no idea. “I understand and I don’t blame ya.”Fang’s understanding didn’t seem to change anything in her demeanor. She might understand, still, she wouldn’t weaver to protect her world at any cost. _Priorities_.

The woman seemed to hesitate before her next words but they came out anyway. “I shouldn’t say that but… just between ya and me…”A shadow of smirk crawled back on the brunette’s face.“I guess I can trust you with keeping that for yourself.” Lightning glared at her. _Ha.Ha. Very funny_ …

“Some of your friends have already started talkin’. It’s no use tryin’ so hard to stay silent. Soon we’ll know what we need anyway.” Lightning’s heart rate quickened in irritation. She wondered if the woman was telling the truth or if she was bluffing. Either way, it wouldn’t surprise her. Being a team player was never her best quality at all. She was a lone wolf. Working alone made her most effective. That’s because she could never fully trust anyone. _If you want things done right, you do them yourself._ Life taught her that. The only person she could count on was herself and the life stubbornly kept reminding her about it. She cursed the people who made her arrange the team this time. The team that she didn’t trust anyway.

“Is it really worth the pain?” The woman brought back her attention with a question. _Worth the pain? Tch… The pain doesn’t matter to me…_ There was hardly anything that mattered for her these days. She needed to stay consistent though. Cocoon’s safety should matter for her so she held on to that thought, insisting that it does, so she could stay sane.

“All in all, ya asked for it…” The woman’s irritation was obvious now as she crossed her arms on her chest. “Bloody Cocoonians… Sneakin’ into our territory…” She scoffed with disgust. “Why can’t ya just leave us be?!” The honest anger and incomprehension in Fang’s eyes took her off guard. For a moment there, she wasn’t sure if she heard right. The initial confusion quickly gave place to anger starting to boil her blood. _Leave you be?! Oh no, you’re not going to play the victim now, and not with me of all people._

“Us and Gran Pulse as a whole.” The brunette wasn’t going to drop the accusatory tone and hostile glare anytime soon, which only aroused more of internal protest in the prisoner.

_This has been your people threatening Cocoon’s safety for decades!_

“Ya Cocoonian vipers have odd satisfaction in meddlin’ with everythin’.” Fang’s agitation started slowly turning into disgust. “I saw what ya’re doin’.” The Pulsians eyes were full of scorn but Lightning was at a loss here. She didn't follow what the other woman had in mind so she waited warily for further accusations. “Starts with innocent takin’ samples of the wildlife here. Then ya modify them.”

Lightning watched closely the growing aversion and hater on Fang’s face. She was clearly being protective of Gran Pulse as a whole. Her words… did ring a bell, somewhat… Fang couldn’t be much wrong there, she knew that. Sampling Gran Pulse was no secret to her and also those on Coccon so that they can thrive. _You need to know your enemy to protect yourself properly._ Everybody knew that and it made a perfect sense. However, she was aware that something odd was going on in the Weapon Development Department – an inseparable part of Public Security and Intelligence Command – commonly called the gem of PSICOM. She wasn’t supposed to be aware. It was classified, the highest level of security way beyond her permissions back then. Nabaat’s department to be exact. As much as she wasn’t supposed to, she started digging, from her personal sheer hatred towards Nabaat. The issue fell out of the picture quickly, though, as her own life shattered into pieces.

“I saw your version of behemoth. Ya breed them like pets.” Lightning never reached deep enough but that wasn’t unexpected... What she found out was just the tip of the iceberg and Jihl Nabaat was capable of anything. “It’s half as fierce as the original and ya still cannot control it... even with that ‘electric collar’.” Lightning eyes grew wider, just for a tiny moment. If there were any field tests she should have known about it... It made her wonder just how far-reaching Nabaat’s experiments really were at the end of it all. Luckily for Lightning, Fang was much too agitated to notice that little shift in her expression.

“Don’t forget that we all grew up ‘ere. Ya’re not goin’ to conquer us just by weaponizin’ Gran Pulse beasts.”

_Conquer you?_ This woman was either insolent or completely kept in the dark. _Tch... This was never about conquering anything. It’s Pulse threatening us with the invasion ever since I can remember. It’s your people questioning me now, not mine raiding your villages! They want the answers that would specifically endanger Cocoon as a whole. I’m not letting any savage into my home… I’m not giving you anything._

 “What ya’re doin’ in your labs is just sick.” She couldn’t argue with that… assuming that Fang was telling the truth. However, she could understand the reasons. Fear is the greatest motivator and her people were living in fear for too long.

“Now ya’re back for the wyverns, huh?” The realization of what Fang’s words really meant hit her immediately. _Fucking wimps!_ Fang wasn’t lying earlier. Some of her squadmates had to spill already. _That’s how it ends when they force you to take some rookies._ This time, she didn’t try to contain her irritation too much. The world proved her again that trust was a weakness. She was the only one she could trust and she was glad that, this time, she kept her squadmates blind…

“Oh? I see that rings a bell.” Fang smiled ominously, satisfied with herself. Taking the Cocoonians irritation as a confirmation. That’s exactly what Lightning hoped to get out of Fang. The huntress wasn’t finished with her yet though. She put her hands on her hips and started eyeing the prisoner suspiciously. “But tell me Light… somethin’ doesn’t add up here, does it? Wyvern’s nestin’ ground is a pretty long way from ‘ere. So your intel was tremendously inaccurate… unless somethin’ unexpected made you end up in this place… or… there is somethin’ else completely that ya were up to…” Fang continued watching her for some more time but couldn’t read anything more. Finally, she sighed heavily and came back to her seat. “Either way, your little expedition is over now.”

The ‘conversation’ was over as well. Fang stayed silent until the end of her shift. That gave Lightning time to think about her words. To wonder if that was another attempt on the Gran Pulsian’s end to make her weaver. Whatever the reason - Fang was doing it on purpose or she was just being honest - it didn’t matter in the end. Light’s mind was set and there wasn’t any field for negotiations. She was going to get out of this place or die silent. The first one was preferable but the second one, for some reason, felt oddly acceptable…

A chill run up Lightning’s back as she remembered her earlier dream. The dead eyes looking back at her. The same dead eyes that were hunting her in her dreams since she had seen them for the first time, from the inside out.

XXX

**A phone in Lightning’s pocket buzzed for the third time. She picked up, assuming that someone wasn’t going to give up after the previous two failed attempts of whoever it was trying to contact her.**

**“Yes, sir?” She asked in a low voice, keeping her eyes on the building she was observing for quite a time now.**

**“Farron, we’re withdrawing you. Pack your things and…”**

**“What?” Lightning cut him off. Suddenly, the target which was occupying her attention exclusively fell off the radar. The phone in her hand was the main focus then, as bewilderment slowly started turning into anger. “Are kidding me? Give me two more days and you’ll have the problem dealt with. Silently.” She forced herself to stay calm and reason with her superior. Her eyes involuntarily came back to the previous place of interest, denying what she was asked for, hoping that things would get back on the track.**

**“We need you back in Bodhum. A local team will take over this case.”The situations like this were the ones she hated most. All her hard work trashed away in one second. _What a waste of time…_**

**Time was of the most precious currency. She had been giving up so many things in her life to get more of it and sleep was the most trivial of them all. She needed the time to talk her sister out of that insane idea of marrying Snow. Their previous conversation hadn’t gone as planned as she would have liked… _But now, when the emotions quietened somewhat, Serah would clearly listen to reason…_ She only needed to get things done here and then she would find time to talk some sense into her sister.**

**“This is ridiculous. I’m not…”Lightning started to protest. Taking her off this case, after she had already done some decent job here, was beneficial to no one if she were honest here. They would have to start this mission from scratch again.**

**“This is an order, sergeant. Your train leaves in an hour, understood?” Amodar was getting clearly exasperated and his voice adopted peremptory edge. If she learned one thing about the military, that would be its incontestable hierarchy. No matter how much she hated that, falling in line was the only option that didn’t lead to disaster. Thus, a quiet ‘ _yes, sir’_ , muttered through the clenched teeth, was just enough and exactly enough to finish the discussion.**

**XXX**

**Lightning knocked at the door but was too pissed to wait for an invitation. She came in and closed the door behind a little too loudly.**

**“Sir.” Her salute was regardless and hasty, as the next words were eager to come out of her mouth. “Permission to speak freely?” The anger was fuming out of her as she impatiently waited for his answer.**

**“Take a seat, please.”Lieutenant Amodar pointed at the chair opposite the desk he was sitting at and turned a deaf ear on her request.Sodid she - ignored his command and started to externalize her irritation.**

**“I was there for days and when I was almost done you just…”**

**“Sit down, Farron.” Amodar cut her off, this time his voice was much more strained and imperative. Lightning looked at him angrily, evaluating how much she can indulge in the discussion.**

**“Tch…” She huffed and crossed her arms in irritation. “I’m better off standing.” The answer might not be conforming, but she dropped the earlier topic and just watched the Lieutenant, waiting for whatever he had to say.**

**The man rubbed his brows tiredly. A heavy sigh left his mouth before he put his forearms back on the desk and laced his fingers. His straightened back and serious gaze locked at the woman before, gave him an all-professional, solemn look. It made her irritation subdue and concern started taking over.**

**“I’m not good in this kind of matter, so I’m not going to beat around the bush.” The graveness in his voice only made the frown on the woman’s forehead deepen. “There was an accident.” He started without severing eye contact. “We need you to identify two of the bodies. Potential deceased are Snow and Serah Villiers.”**


	6. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. Here is the next chapter. Have fun.  
> Big thanks to my beta - LadyWolvie82

“Argh…” A subdued grunt escaped Lightning’s throat. Luckily for her, the nearest guard was ignoring her completely. She clenched her teeth forcefully and sacrificed all her focus to keep herself breathing. The pain started to subdue very slowly, but it was still blinding all the same. It was radiating from her left palm and it was going all the way up to her shoulder. All her upper body was trembling, starting from her left hand and finishing with the trembling breath she was straining through her teeth. After a few more minutes of this, she lifted one of her eyelids just so the familiar surrounding started to fill her mind again. The one she was slowly getting used to. She turned her head slightly to investigate her hand. A drop of blood fell to the floor. She wasn’t sure from which fingertip it oozed. It made no difference to her. They were naked and the blood was slowly seeping from all of them. The nails were no longer there.

Lightning wasn’t sure if she was glad that they left the right hand untouched. The words she heard from Caius, somehow, popped up in her mind again. ‘ _Still plenty of nails you have but many other matters seek my attention today. We shall leave them there for another encounter. I need to excuse myself for now.’_ A chill ran along her back as she thought about the same treatment regarding her right hand. Her skin broke into goosebumps on the thought about her toes. For a moment there she wished they’d finished the job that was started on her. However, when some time passed, her brain started to function properly again. The terrible pain that was now mixed with fear stopped overwhelming her judgment. Its influence on her was getting lesser with every minute as Lightning threw all her mental resources to separate herself from it as far as she could.

The safe place. They always teach you to go with your mind as one into a safe place. To disconnect one’s self from the real world and then blanket yourself with a thick layer of comforting memories. The theory was banal. The reality loved to question all of its foundations at many stages whenever given the chance. _What if every potential safe place is corrupted by sorrowful memories?_ That was the starting question.

**XXX**

**Claire ‘Lightning’ Farron entered the house she once shared with her sister. That was nothing fancy but let them live a decent life. With her promising carrier in the military, she could afford it easily.**

**The living room was cozy. Clearly Serah’s touch. Decorating wasn’t her strongest point. To tell the truth, she didn’t care one bit about it so she thanked Etro for having Serah to make this house _home_. It did look very similar to their old house in many ways if Lightning was honest here. The one they lived in when their parents were still alive… This familiarity was mostly soothing to her, even if it tended to cause some itching nostalgia. On the wall, an old photo of the whole family together. Both sisters looked so young there. Young and… _happy_. **

**_Just when it all went so wrong…?_ ** **Lightning took a long swig of the golden liquid, delighted at how it was burning her throat and stealing attention from the tight knot inside her. She went further in, into the corridor. Her teeth gritted as she found herself before the door to another room. Serah’s one. One more swig of the liquid courage to help her tears from falling. Lightning pressed the handle, slowly not able to stop her heart from growing heavier with every second that passed by. It had already fallen into the pit of her stomach, and was tightly cramped together with all the other insides.**

**The door creaked in a quiet protest as she pushed them open. She just stood there for a long while, looking inside absently and much longer than she intended. As if she expected her sister to suddenly materialize there in that room, out of nowhere. To smile at her reassuringly and say that this was only some cruel nightmare. Sadly, nothing like that happened. The room stayed as empty as it was, and just as cold.**

**Lightning walked inside. There was way too much color and fluff for her taste but that was so… _Serah_. It was tidy as always. Waiting for her little sister to come back and rummage through all her things, just for the sake of rearranging the decor.**

**A small desk occupied the corner near a window. On its surface, there was lying Serah’s engagement pendant. One of the little belongings that were recovered from the corpse. The silver globe with its shell partially crushed on the side and a round, polished crystal visible through the hole. The rest of the metal was spiraling down to finish with a pointy end. The image of how Cocoon looked from outside… _from Pulse_.**

**Lightning gritted her teeth, reaching for the very pendant but somehow stopped her hand just before touching it. Her eyes filled with tears and she took back her hand abruptly as if the cold, silver surface was to burn her fingertips. Lightning then took another swig from the bottle and almost choked, as the liquid hardly squeezed through her now tightened throat. She balled her fists and took a few steps back as the angry, desperate tears started flowing down her face.**

**“Damn you, Snow…” She muttered to herself, trying to convince herself that what had happened was all his fault. Trying to find someone to blame for what had happened. Anyone, so she wouldn’t have to carry the blame all alone. Of course, she was angry with him. If he hadn’t proposed, her sister would have been still alive today. This damn proposal started the avalanche of mistakes that shattered her young life. She was angry with the whole world, but that was just a shallow escape from just how much she was angry with herself.**

**Lightning withdrew from the room as her denial completely faded, and the fear of grim reality started to kick in again. The overwhelming regret threatened to suffocate her from the inside out if anything. She needed some fresh air… She just couldn’t… She would rather drink herself unconscious, wake up with a killing hangover, in an unknown place than spend another night in this house. Completely alone. Vulnerable to all the haunting memories that were feeding on her grief.**

**XXX**

**Two weeks earlier.**

**“You’re telling me that you’re sick, the docs have no idea what it is and now you’re going to marry this idiot?” Lightning asked, her voice rising involuntarily with every word that came out of her mouth throughout that statement. Her younger sister was just standing there before her, pinned to the floor under the sergeant’s increasingly agitated stare, all the confidence drained out of her by her older sister. The table which was separating two sisters didn’t seem to be enough. Even with the obstacle between, Serah couldn’t help but feel intimidated and afraid. “Additionally, you don’t have your medical record?” She could barely control her breathing at that point when she added. “And you think I’ll buy that?!”**

**“Sis…” Serah took a step back looking up at her sister with fear. She assumed that the conversation might be harsh. Lightning had always been stern, or at least since they had been left alone, so Serah didn’t expect cheers and congratulations. Especially if it came to Snow. To say that the older Farron didn’t like him much was an understatement. To her, he was just an irresponsible, overweening moron who was chummy from the get-go. Arrogant to the letter, and convinced that he’s everyone’s pal. Everything her sister despised, still, Serah didn’t expect such a severe reaction and the lack of trust.**

**“You thought that I’d take pity on you and give you my blessing or what?” Anger was quickly growing in Lightning. She couldn’t understand how could they come up with an idea like that. Sure, she wouldn’t agree for this marriage anyway. Serah was too young and she simply deserved someone better than this half-witted rascal. She had to admit that Guardian Corps were mostly turning a blind eye for the little offenses of his“NORA” gang as they tried to help people. They were playing heroes and didn’t do much harm, however, that was risky and irresponsible in their eyes. Lightning was convinced that NORA’s unauthorized ‘ _help_ ’ would get someone killed someday.“Full points for originality, but from what I see the only thing contagious here is his stupidity!”**

**“Lightning, stop it! Why don’t you believe her?” Snow leaned on the table to drew Lightning’s attention to himself. He was trying to shield Serah, seeing the tears that started to collect in her eyes and Lightning’s obdurate demeanor.**

**“No, you stop it!” Lightning slammed her hands at the table, confronting him without hesitation. Her plan to keep ignoring him, for his own good, shattered into pieces. They were at each other’s throats now.“She tells you she’s sick and you pop the question?! Are you kidding me?!”**

**“She’s your sister! You’re shutting her out!” Snow pushed on. This pile of muscles had clearly no self-preservation instinct. Surprisingly, Lightning said nothing to that, his words strangely accurate to this specific situation. For the past few years, she’d become an expert at shutting people out one way or another. Her lips pressed into a tight line when she pushed away from the table before glaring at him. He had no idea, but Lightning clearly had no intention of enlightening him. Instead, she crossed her arms with exasperation and averted her eyes turning to the side.**

**“Tch… This is ridiculous.” She said finally after a few moments to think it over. This time, only a cold distaste was present in her voice. Nothing like her earlier yell at the pair.“She’s barely 18. You’re both big children!”**

**“You’re not much older yourself, Lightning.” Encouraged by the little shift in Lightning’s demeanor, Snow had no intention to give up on this. However, no one should strain his luck so much if it came for Lightning Farron. Indeed, that was too much. Her eyes widened in shock for a mere second then they narrowed hostile and focused on the tall, fair-haired intruder who dared to compare her to himself.**

**“Get out of my house.” The uncompromising order came out more like a snarl than one anticipated. Way more forceful than she’d learned during her military training, exactly as forceful as she intended.**

**Technically, Snow was right but he understood nothing. The age difference between them was no more than three years, Lightning was only 21 but she felt as if the whole ages passed since the carefree childhood. She was still a teenager when their mom died and they were left alone. She had to throw away all her childhood in an instant and grow up fast. For Serah. She had to take care of her younger sister and there was no place for any second thoughts. Any sign of weakness, her selfishness, her fear, her loneliness all of these little parts of herself cut away and forgotten. Only hard work, strictness, rationality and responsibility were worth anything and she hadn’t had years to learn that. She had been thrown into the deep end and had to catch up quickly. The only way to take control of her life had been to control her emotions, so she had been trying ever since.**

**Snow took a few steps back, ready to leave but then Serah’s hand slipped shyly into his.**

**“And you stay.” Lightning demanded from her sister when her eyes slowly traveled from their entwined hands to Serah’s face. “I expect to see your medical record by tomorrow.” The deadline was strict but Serah brought it on herself.“Besides, we still have some talking to do.”**

**“No…” Serah breathed quietly, clearly afraid to stand her ground but doing it anyway. If there was one thing that Lightning taught her it was stubbornness and determination in getting to her goal. And Snow was someone she wasn’t going to give up easily, even if she had to stand up to her sister. “I’m going with Snow.”**

**“Serah, we aren’t finished there. If you leave now…” Lightning’s floating in anger mind tried to find some potent threat. Anger was one of these emotions she had always trouble to stifle, though, she couldn’t afford to overstep here. “Tch… If you leave, I’m not going to wait until you get smarter. I’m going back to the base first train in the morning so don’t bother with coming back.”**

**The tears, that had been hanging in Serah’s eyes since the beginning of their fight, finally fell down her cheeks. She said nothing more and stormed out of the room.**

**“Tch…” Lightning huffed with disappointment seeing her sister leave their home, and Snow running after her. “Worst birthday ever.”**

**Lightning was thoroughly disappointed with Serah. The lie about some unidentified sickness… She just could believe that. She refused to. _How could she?_ Lightning asked herself trying to scatter the painful memories. _After what mom went through when we were kids… how can she make jokes like that?_ Their mother had been bed-ridden for weeks with cancer, before passing away. They both saw her weakening day after day, crippling before their eyes hour after hour, waiting for death to take her.**

**Lightning’s greatest fear for all these years was to see Serah fade away the same way, being slowly taken from her. Prevention became one of the main focuses of her life. She couldn’t let Serah slip away, it was her responsibility to take care of the Farron family. Both herself and her sister. So the regular checkups became a permanent point of their lives and since Lightning was Serah’s legal guardian, she had full access to her medical record. _They would inform me if anything was wrong… unless…_ Serah was of legal age now, they had no longer any obligation to inform Lightning. _But why would Serah… no, it’s illogical… she wouldn’t dare to sign me off the first contact list._**

**Lightning let out a heavy breath. On the counter was lying a neatly packaged birthday gift. She untied a ribbon with a sour mine. Inside there was an ornamented folding knife. She took it out and unfolded the blade easily.**

**“How practical.”**

**To tell the truth, she didn’t mind practical presents, they were much better than totally useless, various adornments. Although, nothing would lighten her foul mood that day. First Serah making up this pitiful story, then leaving the house with Snow. That stung Lightning like hell. Still, she preferred it this way. She preferred to believe that her sister lied to her than believe that she actually was ill. That possibility was banished from her mind.**

**XXX**

Lightning’s stomach grumbled on the mere thought of food. The greenish goo they were giving her was one of the most disgusting things she had ever eaten before and still, her stomach grumbled. The smell was completely repulsive. To make things worse, the consistency of slime was making it equally easy to swallow and to go back up the same way immediately. It had almost happened to her first _meal_ here. The swallowing triggered the immediate gag reflex, but somehow, she was able to fight it and push the very goo back down her throat. Getting used to this delicacy wasn’t so simple as some would think. It seemed to get even worse with every next swallow. She had never been so concentrated while eating before. The fact that she had never before considered the process of eating to be the battle with her own stomach, it explained her focus a lot.

However, what alternative did she really have here? Lightning was getting weaker with every shift of guards, she was aware of that much. She could feel the strength slowly leaving her body, bit by bit. If she stopped eating, she would be completely drained in no time and still she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Her chances of escape were declining exponentially. Eating _this thing_ was a crucial point of the saving energy strategy, so she decided to adapt in order to survive.

A quiet rumble could be heard and there it was. Her dinner was being carried her way by one of her usual guards. A female this time. One of three that were watching over her from time to time. This one would be a middle ground. She definitely wasn’t a chatter, but she would exchange a few words with the other Pulsians whenever her shift was starting or ending. Sometimes she would even throw a word or two towards Lightning. Nothing significant, just some froth.

The other one had never even uttered a word, at least in Lightning’s presence. She didn’t mind that at all, she liked it quiet and most of her guardians were rather silent. She wondered if they were ordered to stay silent around the prisoners. But then, there was the third female guard, Fang. This one wouldn’t give her a break. Every time with a new story to tell. Often sarcastic, always curious, asking questions and getting no answer. Than guessing the answer and watching, trying to decipher Lightning’s reaction. Every time the same cycle. _So annoying._ Moreover, staying impassive to Fang’s rambling was draining from her far too much energy. She really needed to strain badly to look back into her piercing, watchful green eyes and show her nothing in return. However, the most irritating thing was that the woman was getting excited whenever Lightning faltered and the tiniest shadow of reaction ran through her face. In these cases, she wanted nothing more but wipe the smug smile from Fang’s face.

Fortunately, this time it wasn’t Fang that was watching her. The woman that was guarding the pinkette was rather short and slim but Lightning could easily see her muscles move under her skin with every move that was made. Her looks might be deceiving to some at face value, but surely she had to be quite a deft fighter. Every time there were throwing knives attached to her belt but so far Lightning didn’t have any occasion to reach one of them. They tended to free one of her hands during the feed time so she could eat on her own but they were extraordinary cautious after she had almost run away.

The woman stopped before her with a bowl full of green slime and looked down. A similar, empty bowl was lying on the ground a little bit further than usually. The woman crouched with a sigh reaching for the bowl and intending to replace it with the full one. While doing so, she turned her back to the prisoner.

Lightning’s cerulean eyes glittered. That was one of these moments she was waiting for. Her hands might be still shackled but… _You never turn your back to the enemy._ Lightning put her weight back on the shackles. The adrenaline eased the pain that her wrists protested with. She raised her knees to her chest swiftly but carefully to not make the chain between her ankles rattle. Then just in time when the woman was about to get up, Lightning launched her legs forward. The chain clattered madly alarming the crouching woman but it was too late. She felt the cold metal wrapping around her neck. She tried to pull forward but was yanked back forcefully. Lightning crossed her legs, tightening loop around the woman’s throat so she had no chance to escape. The woman’s hands clutched on the chain instinctively, trying to free herself but the knot was too tight, she wasn’t able to get her fingertips beneath or loosen it anyhow. The air was no longer flowing through her air duct.

Lightning let out a hoarse noise from her throat. The noise was meant to be the word ‘keys’. It didn’t resemble it at all. After such a long time of not using her voice, it refused to work properly. Still, the woman seemed to understand her… or that wasn’t so hard to read her mind then. She unbuckled the keys from her belt and shook them above her head, hoping that the ringing sound would get the prisoner’s attention. Indeed, Lightning’s eyes focused on the keys and the excitement flew through her veins. Even if she wasn’t able to force the woman to open the shackles, she should be able to pick them from the ground using her legs and put them into her hand. The rest would be a matter of time. However, before she tightened the loop even more, to finally crush her windpipe, something unexpected happened. The woman threw the keys. The time seemed to slow down as Lightning’s eyes widened and her mouth opened agape in shock. She watched the quietly rattling keys fly away and land near the opposite wall.

_Fucking bitch…_ Lightning let out an angry growl and grated her teeth in frustration. Raging in anger, she strained the muscles in her legs determined to choke the devious woman who was getting visibly weaker with every second of oxygen deficiency. _Control your emotions._ Lightning repeated in her head but how was she to control herself when a chance like this slipped through her fingers. She took a cleansing breath.

Finally, the chain loosened just when the guard was about to pass out. She sucked the air greedily, choking and coughing. As quickly as she was able to form a coherent thought, she crawled away from the prisoner’s range then she continued to cough and hyperventilate, clutching on reddened skin of her throat. The red trail was clearly visible, even in the dim light and it would stay there for hours at least before it’d start bruising.

Breathing was clearly giving the scrawny guardian a lot of trouble. Some time passed before she eventually managed to stop choking and turned her gaze to stare at the pink-haired prisoner. Lightning was standing there, shackled, completely impassive as if nothing occurred minutes earlier. The only indications were the small trickles of blood oozing from her wrists and flowing lazily up to her elbows. Her wounds opened up again from the strain. _That all for nothing._ Lightning was frustrated. Everything was going according to the plan until… she underestimated the guardian’s dedication. _I should have snapped her neck right away! I would have time to retrieve this key from her body somehow._ Eventually, with the key thrown far away, there was no point in killing the woman. Oh, her temper was urging her to do so, but she let the woman go. _Killing her would only bring me more trouble._

The guard, finally, got up from her knees and picked up the bunch of keys. Then she turned towards Lightning and approached her.

“Nice try...” She started with a hoarse voice.“It might have worked with one of you Cocoonian pussies, but don’t forget… you are on Gran Pulse.” She smirked keeping a safe gap between the two of them. On the ground, there was still half-filled bowl with the green goo. The rest of it was decorating the stones nearby, splashed there during the struggle. The woman picked the bowl up, cautious this time to keep the distance from the prisoner.

“You are quite vivid today, I bet you’re not hungry.” Then she got closer, using her foot to pin the chain between Lightning’s ankles to the ground and poured contents of the bowl on Cocoonian’s head. She dropped the bowl to the ground and took a step back to admire her work.

“I could have gone harder on you. Take it as a thank you for not having enough guts to finish ‘this’.” She rubbed the injured skin at her throat and backed off no longer interested in the prisoner.

Lightning, in turn, didn’t consider it ‘going easy on her’. The smell of the goo was torturous and she was now bathed in it. If there was a possibility to kill someone with smell alone, that would do. She isolated her nose and started to breathe through the mouth. _It’s not the kind of death I signed up for._


End file.
